Heat ‘All in’ on Damian Lillard Trade; Only One Stipulation, Says Insider

The Miami Heat are feverishly working to acquire the seven-time All-Star from the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Heat seem prepared to do almost anything to acquire Damian Lillard via trade this offseason. But the key word is almost, as it appears Pat Riley and Co. are locked in on the idea of creating the NBA’s next big three.

As Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel told NBA TV, Miami essentially has offered the Trail Blazers just about anyone on the Heat roster with the exception of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.

“They basically have loaded up one of those Pods dumpsters in front of the Trail Blazers and said, ‘Take anyone out of here you want besides Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler.’ Maybe they’ll go back and forth on Caleb Martin a little, but it’s basically sort of, ‘Come and pick and choose; tell us what you want—anything else is yours.’ The Heat are all in on this. This is their moment,” Winderman explained.

Winderman went on to outline the obvious issue the Heat have run into thus far in the pursuit of Lillard, which is that a number of other teams can offer more than Miami. If Lillard is to land in Miami, the deal almost certainly will need to be a three- or even four-team trade, depending on Portland’s asking price.